This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1959. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property was developed as a retail gasoline station in 1959, equipped with underground storage tanks, and an additional 12,000-gallon UST was installed in 1978. The station operated continuously from 1959 through 2003. Remediation under the Voluntary Cleanup Program addressed petroleum contamination in groundwater — including benzene, petroleum hydrocarbons from gasoline and diesel, and non-halogenated solvents — with all six identified contaminants now remediated to below cleanup levels. The site has received a No Further Action determination. That history could support an insurance cost recovery claim against carriers who issued insurance policies 40+ years ago.
Why Historical Insurance Policies May Be Accessible
Pre-1986 Commercial General Liability (CGL) policies were occurrence-based and did not contain an effective pollution exclusion in Washington. If contamination occurred while those policies were active, those historical insurance carriers may still have a legal obligation to fund the cleanup costs, even if the business closed or the property changed hands.
Gasoline operations at this property began in 1959 and ran for 27 years before 1986, the year occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies stopped reliably covering pollution claims in Washington. The petroleum contamination remediated in groundwater here — benzene, diesel, gasoline, and associated solvents — originated from underground storage tanks installed and operated throughout that pre-1986 window. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during those decades of fuel dispensing may still be obligated to recover the remediation costs incurred to bring this site to closure.
Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful cost recovery claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage for costs already incurred. Restorical's forensic accounting team works to re-establish and document past cleanup expenditures, ensuring the strongest possible basis for recovery.
Recovering Costs from an Older Cleanup
If this site reached No Further Action years ago, the original cleanup expenditures may be difficult to reconstruct. Restorical's forensic accounting team specializes in re-establishing and documenting past cleanup costs — even decades later — to build the strongest possible basis for an insurance recovery claim.
What We Look For
- Historical insurance policies (pre-1986)
- Policy numbers, carrier names, and coverage periods
- Connection between contamination timing and policy period
- Evidence linking cleanup obligation to insured activity
What We Deliver
- Historical Coverage Chart
- Trigger Analysis & Property/Policy Nexus
- Coverage strategy with recommendations
- Insurance funding for your remediation
- Claims Management & Forensic Accounting
The Restorical Proven Process
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Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.